The Brolik Value Proposition

This last couple weeks rounds out my first year at Brolik, so I’m in prime reminiscing form to reflect on why this agency is so special:

When you interact with and judge as many websites as I do, it becomes immediately apparent how a company has developed their online presence.  Options often include intern/freelancer mish-mosh, out-of-the-box generic, or custom design.  With rapidly evolving technology and best practices, it is easy to separate companies that are not prepared to meet their customer/client expectations, and those that have gone the extra mile (often by footing a larger bill) to make their guests feel at-home.  Guess which development option typically provides the warm and fuzzy feeling after filling your shopping cart, checking out, and populating the field for the three digit code on the back of your credit card?  Hint: it rhymes with “rust n’ benign.”

From the time that I meet with a potential client through our first internal discovery (creative) meeting, Brolik has a special task – that is to develop an intelligent brand experience to reflect a client’s business while addressing their needs and their customer’s needs.  With so much attention and commerce being corralled online, and the subsequent website saturation, making an argument against a special interactive experience is a tough one.  An online presence that is more attractive and user friendly than the industry standard can tell a savvy client a lot about your company’s attitude toward professionalism, customer service, and technical literacy.  Would you favor the web design company with the “under construction” tape across its website homepage, or the one with an attractive portfolio that also features contact information?  Keep in mind that this is a positive impression your company can make before a sales person opens their pitch by spluttering sentence fragments.  Simply put, a website is a powerful “passive” marketing tool.

Brolik is special because we develop these custom online experiences without the intimidating big agency price tag or ego.  Our small scale and in-house creative, programming, and video production teams offer truly impressive brand experiences that stack-up well with our clients’ larger competitors.  See for yourself – compare olivdressings.com to newmansown.com or jennifersalzman.com to verawang.com/wedding (except good luck browsing this one on a mobile device).  You probably have not heard of either company because they are not featured in big box retailers (yet), but after interacting with their website you will take them seriously.  Also, considering our in-depth discovery meetings followed by three client revision rounds, it is no wonder that we deliver every single time.  Please don’t misunderstand – our resources are more expensive than a “one-man shop” or an agency that outsources everything, but hopefully by now you appreciate our value proposition.

In Q2 and the top of Q3, 2010, this value proposition has found considerable demand.  It’s safe to say that Brolik has ridden out the worst economic landscape since the Great Depression – and in high fashion.  Like most everybody, we were hit squarely with a 2009 slump, but it seems that our situation is improving more rapidly than the broad economy.  Between a six year old network that keeps on giving, and a deepening portfolio that consistently conjures  “oooo’s” and “aaah’s”, Brolik was able to acquire new clients, including Zeigler’s Apple Cider, in the midst of the worst muck.  Despite headlines that portend “a slow, jobless recovery,” our client and employee roster continue to exhibit healthy growth.